


satellites: phantasmagoria

by hyperloop



Series: satellites [1]
Category: Original Work, Satellites - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Multi, Other, alternate title: Sys Learned Some New Space Words And Had To Use Them, but i needed some system of organization, but yes this is the beginning of satellites, i feel like this is subpar but feel free to prove me wrong, look ok i know its pretentious tagging my ocs and original fandom by name, read satellites first if you please
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:22:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperloop/pseuds/hyperloop
Summary: remember satellites? you know, this?: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9699692this is the beginning. that is the end.anyway, salem gets an upsetting text from his "friend" and in the middle of being a callous a hole he is interrupted by a robot crash landing in his backyard. shenanigans ensue. but not in that way. not yet. you know what i mean.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this goes out to the people who get excited about the sky. stay classy, big fuck'n geeks.

_ Satellites: Phantasmagoria _

  
  


_ “You are not alone, for there is a ubiquitous force watching over you. It wants to protect you, it wants to guard you. Let it do so. It wants you to gaze into the sky and know when you get a familiar feeling of likeness, that you’re not alone.” _

 

_. . .  _

  
  


He lay in his bed, shrouded pleasantly in his covers. He restlessly rubs his pantsless legs together under the covers, creating a warm friction. Any other night he might be giddy over how comfortable you could say he was, but tonight just couldn’t be one of those nights. His haphazardly placed phone vibrated and knocked itself off of his nightstand. His eyes open wider and he rolls over uncomfortably, his heart beating noticeably faster. Thoughts pour through his head but dissipate before becoming anything worth mentioning because he simply lacked the headspace. He gives a breathy defeated exhale before rolling over again, picking his phone off the floor, and unlocking it. 

 

He emit a pitchy whine upon realizing that it was a message from Cambria. To describe his relationship with a girl named Cambria would be like describing addiction to something that didn’t exist. Total fixation on something intangible, because, well, Cambria was just a name on a screen. Well, Circuit was the name on the screen in reality, as this was her alias. Unable to escape his rushed incomplete thoughts any longer, he decides to bite the bullet and read her message. 

 

[12:29 AM] circuit: i have something i feel like i should tell you. i don’t feel a spark as i used to. i feel like we’re drifting away, but i think we’re both better off like this anyway. you don’t need me, i don’t need you. and you’d probably be better off without me and that’s ok. i’m really sorry but i felt like i should say this   
  
This is Salem. Salem is a common high school student from Earth. Salem is a boy with many abilities and attributes. Some of which being his soft flat hair on his head. He bleached it because he had the audacity to do such a thing, but his family wasn’t necessarily down with dyeing it a dark navy blue like he had originally wanted. You could even see his natural dark brown color percolating at the roots. He has speckled brown eyes that withheld universes, but he probably wouldn’t believe you if you told him that. He normally wore circular frame thin wire copper glasses for his nearsightedness. And below his glasses were a patch of freckles on his cheeks that drew out the constellations, but he probably wouldn’t believe you if you told him that. Perhaps he’s a bit insecure about his somewhat crooked teeth or his slight chubbiness… but hey, isn’t everyone? 

 

This is Salem. And Salem was, well, frankly kind of emotional right now. 

  
  


Salem felt his organs nearly cave in on him in response to Cambria’s message. Maybe he was more than kind of emotional. Was Cambria breaking up with him? Fuck, that makes no sense, they were never dating in the first place! How does one get over someone they never dated? Should he have to? Is he even able to? Salem was, in fact,  _ this  _ close to breaking down and crying on the spot. He hasn’t had a good healthy cry in months, and he’d even deny the incident if you asked. He let out a disgruntled sigh and pulled his phone close to him to write a strongly worded response. 

 

[12:31 AM] salem: Im honestly not sure how to take this, or how you want me to take this. I always felt like I needed you, cambria. Im just a human. Without you, I can’t guarantee a thing. I might run away. I might go insa--

 

_ Boom.  _

 

An incredible thunderous roar was heard from outside. Salem’s body jolted. His thumbs stopped typing whatever impulsive nothings they were tapping out. He was wide awake. He did not move his body but his eyes, and looked out the window on his ceiling. There was the sky, the stunning night sky. Nothing unusual. He didn’t know what expected, fire, smoke trails, darkness, something. He looked back at his phone and then again at the sky and sighed once more. He set down his phone face up on the bed and pushed himself to sit up. 

 

“Nothing to win, nothin’ to lose…” He spoke shakily to himself, slurring on his words a bit. He hesitated at first, but then it came to his mind that if he waited too long, he might not be the first with the idea to investigate whatever the hell just happened outside. Salem regarded himself a fairly reasonable guy, for what it’s worth. In doing so, he didn’t necessarily find himself going outside at-- let’s round it up to 1:00 AM, winter (coming on spring), scantily clad to have an encounter with a stranger. Let it be known that the phrase “nothing to lose” may hold more power than you know. Ask Salem what exactly he meant by such a thing, and he wouldn’t be so easy to tell you. Wouldn’t be so easy to tell you that he’s ultimately giving up, abandoning his current situation, to go investigate what sounded like an explosion outside. In his pajamas. 

 

Salem moaned as he pushed his weight out of bed, picked his glasses off of the nightstand next to it and slid them on his face. Much better. He retrieved his gray sweatpants that were laying sloppily on the floor across the room and wiggled into them. He slid his socks on, the same ones he was wearing earlier that day, followed by his boots. In doing such, he stopped for a moment to look in the mirror. He didn’t give much attention to his hair, just a bit of a touch up. Truth be told, he wasn’t unattractive despite the natural phenomenon known as “bedhead”. Last he needed was to throw his jacket over his sleepshirt and he’s ready to go!

  
  
  
A breath of air escaped him and he turned away from the mirror. He walked over to his window and prepared to step out. He flipped up the latch and pushed the window open and it flung ajar. A light chilled mid-winter’s breeze carefully greeted his skin. He leaned his head out the window before stepping out and inhaled the air, attempting to detect a scent related to the “explosion” that caused the event. There was nothing, nothing but the bone-chilling air. Giving a deep exhale and feeling his organs settle, he lifted himself out of the window and onto his roof, shutting the window behind him.

 

Salem resides mostly in his attic, a room that was given to him after his sister moved away. The Daltroy family was an unconventional, but nothing TOO out of the ordinary. Mr. and Mrs. Daltroy were never “Mr. and Mrs. Daltroy” to begin with. They had their eldest child, Gale, Salem’s sister, from a ripe age. Word got out that Gale simply wasn’t meant to be. She was a good plan poorly executed. She was just a little rushed, is all that they said on the matter. Gale, a deal older than Salem, has moved on now and lives her own life. Salem and his father come to visit her from time to time, occasionally even her mother. Basically “Mr. and Mrs. Daltroy” got together, cranked out two kids, and then split up, creating one massive clusterfuck.

 

Standing on the roof now, Salem lowered himself onto... more roof underneath of him, creeping along to avoid waking his dad. He leapt down from the lower roof in a kind of controlled fall and shook a bit from the landing, right next to the stool that he used to get back up when he snuck out. Something he should’ve gotten used to, although admittedly he only snuck out of the attic when he felt he should. But this was no regular occurrence. Salem was on a mission. 

 

On the ground, he began to walk a directionless journey on a path he had never planned to take. His backyard was a small field in front of a gently wooded area in front of a cute city. He trudged onward through the grass. When he eventually got bored of looking at his own boot bearing feet, he looked up at the sky. There it was, the mind-boggling manifestation of curiosity itself. He continued to gaze up into the heavens, and he appreciated the peaceful, cloudless night. He really did. He felt surreal, he felt immortal. He felt guarded, as if there was a safe force within him. In that moment he swore he could live forever with the power vested in the sky alone. He took a deep breath in and--  Oh, for fuck’s sakes. What’s this? He wondered, muttering aloud his own thoughts. 

 

“Is that… something burning?” He asked himself. He broke his heavenly stare into the stars to look forward. In the near distance, something large… and… smoldery… appears to have struck the ground?! His pace quickened as he strode towards the object. A streak of the ground nearby seems to have been flattened and damaged in the fall, as if it dragged itself on a bit, implying that the object had some mass to it. His pace quickened once again to a jog of sorts and he got closer, and stopped in his tracks before what he saw in front of him. 

  
Before him he saw what appeared to be something oblong covered in ash and soot. Too dark to make out any fine details, he realized that he was in the shadow of the soft light cast by the moon. He hastily ducked out the way and the moonlight shone onto the object. It almost looked like the works of man, but he just wasn’t sure. Either way, he was willing to go off of that assumption. 

 

“Umm… Uhhh… Whew, okay, how do I put this…” Salem struggled with his words.

 

“H-hell… Uhh, hello??” 

 

No response. 

 

“Hi??? Are you alive?? Anyone home??” 

 

No response. 

 

Salem whispered some curses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. In a last try before giving up entirely, he squatted down next to the object and got a closer look. In yet another act of impulsive thoughtlessness, he reached his arm out and touched the object on its countenance. 

 

He pulled his arm back and looked at the residual, well, what seemed to be ash on his fingertips. He squinted at it with wonder in his eyes when his thought process was punctuated! The object lying on the ground has opened its… eyes?? I guess. Its irises glowed a purple aura. Salem jumped backward and stood up, backing off. 

 

“What the…?!?” Salem murmured. 

 

“Promise me you’ll never forget about me.” Out spoke a masculine voice with an inhuman mechanical drone to it. 

 

“Oh Jesus fuck dude, you scared the shit out of me!” Salem exclaimed in a whisper shriek, as not to attract any unwanted attention. Although it’s about time he began to question why attention hasn’t been brought to the scene already. The being rustled in the grass a little, gained its bearings, and stood up. It was partially hooded in something that Salem couldn’t quite make out.

 

“I apologize, I mean no har--, oh, dear me…” And just like that, the right half of the creature’s face was hanging on by a thread. 

 

“Ohhhhh my god man, that’s disgusting. I mean, who are you? Do you need help??” 

 

The half of its face fell off and onto the soft ground. Salem’s mouth fell agape. He didn’t say a word. 

  
  


After about 10 seconds of straight up silent disbelief, it pulled an arm up and daintily removed its hood to reveal the figure of a head, hair and all, and what Salem assumed to be the rest of its body. The moon gave light down on it and Salem finally got a decent look of what he had standing before him. 

  
  


In front of him he saw a humanesque figure. It had all of the physical features we know to be human, a body, a face… yet it was also magnificent enough to have an imperceptible inhuman quality to it. It had a head full of shiny silver hair that shimmered in the moonlight, it covered a little bit of its right eye and ear, but it had kept its hair tucked behind the ear. True, half of its face was missing, but upon a second look, it wasn’t scary. The visible layer underneath the pseudo-human “skin” was just a metallic surface with some lines created by the layered scraps used in its creation. Its eye and facial structure looked like what is considered “normal” for such qualities, with the exception of the eye color. Its eyes were a glowing dark magenta that Salem wished he could stare into, but didn’t, for fear of coming off as rude or intrusive. The rest of its body was obscured by a large baby blue blanket, robe, or something along those lines, covering it neck down. From that point on, Salem knew that he would NEVER have an encounter as strange as this one again, unless, theoretically, he woke up in the middle of the night behind a 7-Eleven next to a man naked and covered in melted cheese and salsa… but even that may not rival the pure enigma of greeting a robot that crash landed from the sky into a field in his backyard. Nonetheless, it was the most unique and oddly arousing encounter he’s ever had the dubiety of experiencing. 

 

“Well, you’re no prize yourself,” It retorted, in something of an alluring voice. 

 

Salem looked down at himself. Untied sweatpants, dirty boots, a jacket he tossed on over a sleepshirt that didn’t match patterns in the slightest, not to mention his hair. Aye, perhaps the robot was right. 

 

He gave a disconcerted look. “You’ve got some nerve crashing into my backyard and saying something like that… Just who the hell are you?!?” 

 

“Me? My name?” Inquired the robot.

 

“Yes, you!” 

 

“My name is... Renegade.” “Alright, Renegade, obviously you’re in need of some assistance. Follow me home, if you will, my hands are getting quite cold…” “Yes, sir.” Renegade said. 

 

Renegade walked alongside of Salem on his way home. In doing so, Salem couldn’t help but notice Renegade’s height. He looked up at the robot, to get a glimpse but averted eye contact when he thought Renegade had noticed. Renegade had a good few inches on him, but next to it Salem felt even tinier. 

 

The two walked nearer to the house in silence except for the grass that susurrated under their feet. The breeze picked up a bit, blowing hair about and blowing around the silence. It was a refresher to Salem’s face. With this, he sighed deeply thinking about how all of his sleepiness had vanished completely, and he didn’t even know what the time is. He wondered what the time was. He glanced up at Renegade and forgot what he was going to ask. Renegade was mesmerized. It looked left and right, up and down, as if it was registering something. Or perhaps taking a moment to fully appreciate its surroundings. Salem grinned and watched the robot perform whatever processor tricks that robots from space did. It was honestly relaxing, mesmerizing watching Renegade be mesmerized with its hair brushing its own face in the breeze and shining in the moonlight. 

 

It was kinda beautiful.

 

By the time Salem was done being a corny bastard, they made it back to his backyard. “Well, this is it. Ta-daa!” Salem gestured towards his humble abode. Renegade said nothing. “My… room is in the attic, the window right up there.” Salem pointed at the window he escaped from earlier. “How do you get up there?” Renegade finally said. “Well, personally I--” “Oh, wait!” Renegade walked toward the house and, using its height to its advantage, raised its arms up and grabbed the ledge of the roof. Salem just stared and wondered, above all, how that blanket stuck to Renegade’s body without its arms holding it in place. “Climb on me!” It said. “Renegade, I know how to get up to my own house. I don’t need to climb on you.” “Why not?” “I’m not gonna climb on you.” “Okay.”

 

Renegade put its arms down and backed off. Salem stepped forward and stood on the wooden stool which gave him some leverage. He put up his arms and grabbed the ledge of the roof, and kicking off of the walls he wiggled his way up, plopping himself on the roof below his window and panting heavily. He stood up from there and looked at the ground, but Renegade was not in his immediate sight. Before Salem had time to seriously question it, Renegade came running in his direction. Salem gasped, and right there Renegade popped up off of the ground and onto the edge of the roof with a thud. It pulled itself up right next to Salem. Salem looked at his feet laughed at the silly robot. “Right up here.” He said, he stepped up onto the layer of roof leading to the attic and pushed open the window. When he looked behind him, He saw the end of a blue blanket above him. “Renegade!” Salem said in a barely audible shrill-whisper. Renegade was on the top roof. 

  
  
  


Salem sighed. Giving up on his original plan, he pulled himself onto the top roof with Renegade. Renegade was lying on its back, not moving. Salem settled down, laying right next to Renegade, by his ceiling window, on his back, facing the stars. The sky grew ever so slightly cloudier. Sometimes a cloud would pass over them, interrupting his scattered thoughts, as if he was throwing out transmissions to whatever satellite was out there to hear him. Salem was thinking. He wondered what Renegade thought. How it thought. What is was, where it came from. 

 

“Salem… Do you know what ‘phantasmagoria’ is?” 

 

“Yes, I d--, wait, how do you know my name?” “Just a hunch.” Salem looked at Renegade, it was smiling. “What do you mean?? Who are you??” Salem had to avoid getting frustrated with Renegade for some time for being intentionally vague. Could a robot even sense the subtle change in a human’s tone of voice? He’s just a robot, after all.

 

“...What are you?…” Said Salem. 

 

“I’m a robot. I’m not from around here.” “Well no shit, Sherlock.” Salem sputtered out, laughing. Renegade laughed as well. Salem silenced himself to listen to Renegade laugh, it was jovial, like that of the youth. “...But really. Could you… elaborate on that?” “What if I can’t tell you just yet?” “Okay, what does THAT mean?” “Think simpler. Ask me something simpler.” “Okay… Why… Hmm… Why is your name Renegade?” “Why is your name Salem?” Renegade responded, almost instantly.

 

“Alright, fair enough, it’s just that a name like that wouldn’t fly around here.” “Oh, is Ren better?” “It’s fine! I don’t dislike Renegade, it’s just a little strange, is all.” “Call me Ren.” 

 

“Hm, alright, Ren. So, why are you here?” “I know I didn’t have to come, but I felt like I should.” “Why’s that?” “You tell me. Got anything on your mind?” Salem went quiet. He scanned his mind for anything recently that could have been bothering him, and then it hit him like a truck when he realized what his attention has been diverted from for the past few hours. Depression surged through his chest. It was Cambria. Cambria and her weird ass decision to stop talking to Salem. Salem exhaled noisily. “There’s this girl…” He explains.

 

“And I know that’s how all sad stories about pathetic teenaged boys start, but--” “No, I understand. Keep going.” Breathe in, breathe out. That’s what he did. “Her name is Cambria.” “That’s a pretty name.” “Yep. She’s… like, I don’t quite know how to put this without sounding like a total creep. But she’s my internet friend. We’ve never met before. And I think I love her. Do you believe me?” “Yes. I believe you can love someone you’ve never met before. Do you wish to meet her?” “Some day, but I don’t know if we will. She sent me a really upsetting message today. We used to talk every night. I think she wants to, well, stop.” “Yikes.” “Yea, I know.” 

 

“Do you suppose she looks into the sky at night and finds consolation in the fact that you gaze into the same one, no matter how far away?” “No, I hadn’t really thought of that. But you’re right, that is pretty cool.” Salem’s eyes still watered. “I just feel like if Cambria doesn’t want to talk to me, no one does. Do you have any clue what that feels like? To be truly unloved? I don’t have many friends but every single one has someone better than me. I’m scared to respond to her message. I don’t wanna fuck it up. But not doing anything isn’t an option either. I feel like I’m on a tightrope, looking down towards my end because I’m too hopeless to look up.” 

 

“You are looking down,” Renegade said, as it looked up. “You’re looking down into the infinite abyss of the universe. We say looking up, because ‘up’ is all we perceive. Gravity is the only thing holding your fragile, delicate lives to your domain. ‘Up’ is merely a manmade concept. But what’s so bad about looking down? We all need to do it, we all need to find ourselves out there. Some find it in the good in other people, some find it reflected in the water, some find it looking down, floating in sweet nothing. Don’t wait for people to find you, Salem. All of the stars in the celestias know you, and they want to help you, because they all see a bit of themselves in you. You’ve got parts of space itself rusting over in your blood, becoming one with you. You’re special. There are plenty of other stars in the sky, and their love for you? A universal constant.” 

 

Salem looked over at Renegade. Its face bore a mirthful grin, its eyes blinked but still glowed that captivating shade of purple. The sick feeling in his chest and stomach vaporized and comfort and affirmation took its place. He took in some air and exhaled out his anxiety. “Wow…” Salem said, as he chuckled a bit in disbelief. “It’s okay if you don’t know what to say. I get that a lot.” Renegade spoke, to Salem’s comfort. Salem’s eyes grazed over Renegade’s figure, taking in more about it. He was brimming with curiosity. He wanted to know everything he could about Renegade, but he didn’t want to alarm the poor, lost robot. Go on, Salem, ask it a question. He looked at the blanket slung around its body.

 

“Ren, can I ask you something else?” “Yes.” “What are you wearing? Is it, like, a snuggie or something?”

 

“What is a snuggie?”

 

“That’s just about the saddest thing I ever heard get said.” 

 

“...It’s like a blanket AND a robe. It’s pretty cool. My sister got one for me. But anyway, would you like me to get you some actual clothes? I wouldn’t want you to get cold or anything.” Renegade smiled. “That sounds lovely.” Salem groaned, stretched himself out, and stood up on his knees. “Wait right here. I’ll get you something to wear.” Salem climbed down a layer of roof and pushed open his window, crawling back inside. He had gotten so used to the chilled air that when he got inside, he started to sweat. The boy rummaged through his closet and located a box with clothing that he was going to give away because his dad told him it was the right thing to do. In that box was a maroon hoodie, too big even for Salem, it went down to his freakin’ knees. He forgot where he got it, but it smelled of old clothing. Probably because it was old clothing. He picked it up, and threw it over his shoulder. He picked some random ass pair of sweatpants from his floor and tossed that on his back as well. He went back up to see Renegade. 

 

“Ren! I got the clothes! I’ll toss them up. You can get dressed, let me know when you’re done.” Renegade crawled over to the ledge that Salem was under. Salem put his hand on the ledge and Renegade touched it with its own hand and smiled at him. 

  
  


They simply looked at each other for a solid few seconds before it got awkward for Salem. He chucked the clothing onto the roof and Renegade caught it, letting go of Salem’s hand. He went back inside through the window and paced about his room, white noise in his head. He was thinking so much but so little. So much was on his mind, yet so little thought was actually happening. After what was about a minute and a half, a smack and a thud was heard from the rooftop. It was a warm reminder that his robot friend was up there, waiting for him. Salem stepped out the window again. “Ren!” He called. No answer. He climbed back up on the rooftop, but Renegade was nowhere in sight. “Renegade? Ren!!” He said in a slightly louder voice. He scanned the ground to make sure the maladroit robot didn’t fall, but it was not there. He searched for the clothes that Renegade had snatched, or the blanket it was wearing, but they were nowhere to be found. He frantically ran his hands through his hair, pulling it. Salem opened his mouth to scream out for Renegade but his voice cracked and he just couldn’t do it. About five minutes of calling out for Ren and Salem gave up. He sat back down on the roof, tracing the spot where Renegade laid with him and gave him reasons to love. He crawled back down into the attic, closed and sealed off the window, undressed, and climbed into his bed. 

 

He laid there with minutes of white noise, his head sounding like a broken transmission. He didn’t realize how cold his hands really were until he got in his warm, cozy bed. He picked up his phone and looked at the time. 2:11 AM. 

 

[12:31 AM] salem: Im honestly not sure how to take this, or how you want me to take this. I always felt like I needed you, cambria. Im just a human. Without you, I can’t guarantee a thing. I might run away. I might go insa

 

It read. Salem reread Cambria’s message, and backspaced every last word of his own, killing it to make room for something better.

 

[2:14 AM]  salem: Thats okay. We all need to find ourselves. I wont stop you from looking down, or living your life. After all, there are plenty more stars in the sky. Just tell me one thing, when you do look up again, think of me?

 

Sent. It was at that point where Salem realized that Cambria had probably fallen asleep by now, and he figured he should too. 

 

Salem was always a bit of a restless sleeper. Or even a non-sleeper. But this time, he wasn’t kept awake. He was put to rest by a mind at ease. When he felt lonely that night, he looked out his ceiling window at the sky, and knew that he loved the stars, and there was no doubt in his mind that the stars loved him back. It was a universal constant. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> if you enjoyed reading consider sending a taco bell gift card directly to my address. 
> 
> CREDITS:
> 
> http://brokentransmission.tumblr.com
> 
> http://twitter.com/cornplextro
> 
> also, check out this song. i drew some inspiration while writing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c0M7p49Acs


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